With inflation spiralling and central banks raising interest rates, it’s been a tough year for bond markets. Nicolas Trindade, senior portfolio manager at AXA Investment Management and manager of the Omnis Short-Dated Bond fund, explains what has been happening this year and why he thinks conditions are going to improve for investors.

Rates are rising

It’s been a difficult year for bond investors so far. Inflation has hit a 40-year high in many countries, driven by ongoing supply chain problems, pandemic stimulus measures and the war in Uk...

After a prolonged period of speculation, the new Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced preliminary details of how the government plans to deal with the energy price crisis.

In late May this year, the then Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a range of measures to reduce the impact of the anticipated October 2022 Ofgem utility price cap increase. Mr Sunak’s announcement followed an earlier assistance package revealed in February, ahead of the April 2022 Ofgem price cap increase from £1,277 to £1,971.

Sunak’s measures, which included a flat ...

Although not traditionally associated with jollity, for those who like to have the last laugh, a funeral may offer the perfect opportunity.

It’s becoming increasingly popular to use humour during services to reflect the personality of the individual being celebrated. A survey by Co-op Funeralcare on the music people would like at their final goodbye found Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, Going Underground by the Jam and Highway to Hell by ACDC were among the chosen tunes.

After the music’s faded, gravestones offer another opportunity t...

When preparing to buy your first home, saving for a deposit can be a difficult process. As house prices, inflation, cost of living and mortgage rates increase, it can mean that some mortgage lenders may require larger deposits of the property value. This can be challenging trying to save a large sum of money and for some within a limited time. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average UK house price was £277,000 in February 2022, which is £27,000 higher than this time last year. It’s also important to consider all the othe...

After seeing their six-year-old son’s birthday list, Liz and Dan have realised it’s high time they started teaching Archie about the value of money. It’s true they both have reasonably well-paid jobs and only the one child but, even so, a Saint Bernard puppy, a quad bike, a horse and a life-size dalek don’t come cheap. So, what can Liz and Dan do to ensure Archie doesn’t end up bankrupting them before he goes to high school?

Pocket money

Archie is nearly seven - the age when most parents start giving their children pocket money, accordin...

Rachel is a 35-year-old charity administrator. When she started her current job nearly six years ago, she was automatically enrolled into her workplace pension. Auto-enrolment for workplace pensions was introduced in the UK to encourage more people to save for retirement. It means employers have to enrol into a pension any workers who are:

• Not already in a pension
• Between the ages of 22 and the state pension age
• Earning more than £10,000 a year
• Working in the UK

Rachel was happy to be enrolled into her workplace pension when she joi...

Whether you want to go on holiday or just want to save some money for the future, budgeting is a good way to put aside some money for reaching this goal. Here you can find some tips to help you take control of your finances.

Why is budgeting so important?

You might think that it’s not worth to spend that much time with counting all your income and expenses. But if you use apps or spreadsheets to make it visible how much you earn and spend on average every month, it will pay off.

In case of the unexpected or just having a big expense, it’s...